raising kids with integrity

I was listening to Focus on the Family the other day and heard the broadcast on raising kids with integrity. The speaker was saying that they were having problems in their family such as fighting, bickering, teasing, harsh words, and strife. At this I really perked up my ears- (it seems summer break brings out the best in our kids). They gave a link to kids of integrity.com. This is great stuff.

We are planning on doing the Harmony lessons first. I love how they have sample prayers for the parents- prayers for the kids, memory verses to go along with the lesson, fun activities to reinforce the character trait that you are teaching. Yes! We are seeking to raise kids of integrity- and I feel like it is the hardest job in the world!

Hoping you have a day of peace and harmony.....:)

Today is one of those days for us...

Tomorrow I am making a goal of getting up and spending extra time on my knees.....

winner........................

thanks to all of you for entering my birthday giveaway! It was great to hear from you. I have picked a random winner and here she is..............
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gypsy@Hebrews11:13!!!!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will get the towels in the mail for you :) ;) or maybe it would be better for me to walk them over to your house (honest I did not cheat- and she did not pay me off, but we are close neighbors :) I always pick a number out of a hat - I have no idea how to work the random number.org thing.

eating the alphabet [G] [L] [N] [P]

We are still eating through the alphabet (See A here, B here, and C & R here) we have just decided to do one or 2 fruits/veggies for each letter.

Everyone in this house hates grapefruit except for me. I will not give up! Even with sugar on it!!


L is a good one- I love lemon on everything! The kids like lettuce and lemon too. A+ for the Ls!!!!


Nectarines are completely delicious! Sometimes I just marvel at God and His creativity- the colors and tastes in fruits alone can cause you to just sit and wonder!

The kids all liked nectarines - which are like fuzz-less peaches.



P is for Pear- pears are greatly loved at this house.


grapefruit- B- (sour, but so good for you!)
lettuce- A+ (especially romaine)
lemons- A
nectarines- A+
pears- A+

I did buy an eggplant and it is sitting in the fridge being avoided by me- I am terrified. What do you do with an eggplant?!?!??!?

28 things I loved about my 35th b-day

1] having Dave all to myself
2] eating at carrabba's- it has been too long.
3] eating chicken gratella at carrabba's! Best chicken ever.
4] the garlic mashed potatoes
5] the warm crusty bread dipped in olive oil & herbs

6] Dessert Rosa...moist yellow cake with pineapple and strawberries, fresh whipped cream....mmmmmm- the perfect birthday cake
7] the free ice cream with homemade thick & rich chocolate sauce that they brought me since it was my birthday.

8] the warm and easy conversation with my husband of almost 11 years (on July 3rd)
9] having the house all to our selves for a whole night
10] our sweet friends who took the kids for the night!
11] waking up whenever we felt like it with no responsibilities
12] both movies that we saw this weekend were good (we are notorious for picking bad movies); Leap Year and Prince of Persia.

13] I had Dave all to myself
14] Barnes & Noble for breakfast (does a vanilla bean cupcake count as breakfast?)
15] a big pile of magazines to browse while eating the cupcake
16] a side trip into Old Navy
17] Old Navy's 30% off every single thing in the whole store
18] having birthday money to spend
19] the kids' cards and gifts (beaded necklaces & hand drawn rainbows and hearts)
20] having Dave all to myself (did I mention that part?)


21] that ring that Dave got for me- love it :)
22] my nice nap (the kids all slept, after being at the friends' house- and kept their mom up late, but by the time we picked them up, they were ready for a nap!)
23] the red watch with white polka dots from my parents
24] The Carol Burnett book from Gigi and Pops- she is just as funny in her writing.
25] the nice picnic we had at the park with our small group class from church - beautiful weather, good food, great fellowship (the squash casserole, banana pudding, & caramel brownies could each get a paragraph on their own)

26] Tim and Jen for all of their work on the picnic- you guys are the best activities directors ever :) :)
27] sweet cards and facebook messages and comments for a happy birthday [thank you, everyone! I now know who cares :) :)]

28] This cute apron- can't decide if I will wear it every day or hang it on the wall to look at!

Can you believe I could only think of 28 things that I loved about my Birthday? See what I mean?!?! I am only 28 in my mind!!!!

**A few more days to enter my ferm dishtowel giveaway- that bird in the bird cage towel is begging for a good home :)

birthday week + towels [lots of dishtowels]

First dishtowel! The one I saw and loved and wanted from The Whimsy Cottage- it is mine!!!! Thanks so much Mom & Dad Mincy! How did you ever know what I wanted !? It is almost too adorable to use.....and I sort of want to make it into a pillow :)

I have already been spoiled rotten for my birthday (which is not until tomorrow)

(which reminds me that it is Gigi's birthday today! Happy Birthday, Gigi! Barb posted a pic of Gigi today - you can see her here with her cute new hair-'do- I love it!)


Second dishtowel(s)! I was contacted by a sales rep for the websites that include all modern.com. They said that I could review some of their products and that they would send me a gift certificate so I could pick out a few things. As soon as I saw the Ferm Living dishtowels- I knew. They stole my heart and I love them to death. I picked the red "weed" tea towel, the green "watercress", and the birdcage tea towel.

They are so nice and big....

the possibilities are endless, really. You could use one for a skirt....


A window treatment....


A throw........

Now it wouldn't keep you very warm, but it sure does look cute!


Ferm Living makes some great towels- very sturdy and well made. Not to mention beautiful.

And since it is my birthday tomorrow, and I am spoiled enough already- I am going to give away these two adorable towels.

Please leave me a comment telling me how old you are (*that part is optional) and how old your mental age is. I am going to turn 35. I absolutely do not feel 35. I feel about 28.....maybe, more like 27. So that is my mental age. Tell me how old you feel and your name will be entered into my little contest to win these 2 sweet and adorable tea towels (skirts/window treatments/throws).

a cute little owl, rainbows, & a decoupage tree

A sweet friend sent me this photo of an owl pillow that she made- isn't it the cutest thing? I am inspired to paint a polka dot owl :)


Rainbow crafts brighten up our otherwise color-less kitchen ;)




This is the second time I have gotten to decoupage a paper pattern tree...and it is a most fun and rewarding project- I see many more trees in my future.

speaking of black and green

Before I forget; the green on the boys' wall is called Pesto (walmart's colorplace brand). I adore black and green together. looking around our house you can see that combo everywhere. Which is funny because I would never just say off the top of my head that I like green and black.

It just came to me today that I really want to paint the kitchen cupboards green. Talking about this to Dave, he had the best idea ever: paint the cupboards black first, then paint the green on top and sand them down in places to let the black show through. Love it! Now I just have to wait for the mood and energy to strike- cuz that is a BIG job. Who wants to come help?

martina's quilt

Martina sent me this photo of a small quilt she had made. I absolutely love the flowers! Look at each one- gorgeous! She was inspired by my print......


And this print was inspired by the lyrics from Dave's song, God's Plan. I love how Martina had fun with the flowers- and she did say she wished she used thread with more contrast for the words- but I kind of like that in a quilt- you have to get up close and almost trace the words with your fingers- the thoughts are sewed right into the piece. Thanks, Martina for sharing your quilt with me :) Beautiful! (you can meet Martina at her sweet blog, sunshine quilting, where she blogs in German and English)

stripes, stripes, we love stripes (almost as much as polka dots)

I just started noticing that I wear stripes a lot- the kids wear stripes a lot, Dave wears stripes a lot.

I like to decorate with stripes and paint with stripes....


tiny stripes.....


green stripes...


navy & white stripes...or multicolored stripes...


...especially black & white stripes

things are just better with stripes!

a scarf is good...but with stripes- it is even better


stripes can go with other patterns too, just for fun

light green and dark green stripes

stripes on stripes


I have noticed that I don't often wear solid colors

at our house we like lots of pattern and color on our walls and our clothing :)


What about you? Are you a pattern person or a solid color person? I am really interested to know what my readers are like- I would guess that there are a lot of you that like stripes, polka dots, etc.....but I could be wrong....maybe you are a solid navy blue kind of person who comes here to shake your head in amazement at all the color & pattern......either way, I am glad you come to visit me :)

junk food friday

Last Friday, Dave helped me out and said he would be in charge of supper.....


He came home with 2 huge bags of junky cereal, milk, and a watermelon.

Sounds good to me.

Thanks for "cooking," Dave!

happy [late] father's day!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad! I love you! Wish we could be at the farm with you!

My dad at the farm taking our boys for a ride

and a kiss for the best daddy of our kids (that makes it sound like there is more than one daddy....) You are our one and only :) :)